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Ben Affleck Looks Back at His Justice League Experience: "Most Monstrous Taste in My Mouth"


It is no secret that the production of the original Justice League film in 2017 was a not good experience for anyone involved with Zack Snyder's exit during post-production, Joss Whedon's takeover, a significant reshoot just months before the release date, and the so-called "mustache-gate" with Henry Cavill.

The film ended up underperforming at the box office and it was panned by critics due to the disappointing outcome of what's supposed to be the biggest DCEU team-up film with our favorite heroes. The project ended up getting redeemed years later when Snyder returned to restore the film and release the four-hour Zack Snyder's Justice League for HBO Max.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Ben Affleck, who played Batman in the DCEU, looked back at his experience making the original Justice League where he lamented the disastrous outcome once again.

"You could teach a seminar on all the reasons why this is how not to do it. Ranging from production to bad decisions to horrible personal tragedy, and just ending with the most monstrous taste in my mouth," he said.

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Despite that, the Batman actor also shared the silver lining of the experience with the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League and how Snyder was allowed to do the original cut of the film years after the events happened.

"The genius, and the silver lining, is that Zack Snyder eventually went to AT&T and was like, 'Look, I can get you four hours of content.' And it’s principally just all the slow motion that he shot in black-and-white," Affleck continued.

"And one day of shooting with me and him. He was like, 'Do you want to come shoot in my backyard?' I was like, 'I think there are unions, Zack. I think we have to make a deal.' But I went and did it. And now [Zack Snyder’s Justice League] is my highest-rated movie on IMDb."

Affleck also opened up about how his experience in Justice League made him stop pursuing his plan to direct a Batman movie and called it the "worst experience" he ever had in show business due to how miserable he felt during the situation.

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"But I was going to direct a Batman, and [Justice League] made me go, 'I’m out. I never want to do any of this again. I’m not suited.' That was the worst experience I’ve ever seen in a business which is full of some shitty experiences. It broke my heart," he shared.

"There was an idea of someone [Joss Whedon] coming in, like, 'I’ll rescue you and we’ll do 60 days of shooting and I’ll write a whole thing around what you have. I’ve got the secret.' And it wasn’t the secret. That was hard. And I started to drink too much. I was back at the hotel in London, it was either that or jump out the window. And I just thought, 'This isn’t the life I want. My kids aren’t here. I’m miserable.'"

Affleck also went on to share his frustration about how most of it was "just standing against the computer screen" and how he found it "creatively not satisfying" by the end of the experience.

While it is pretty clear now that the actor won't continue playing the role in the new DCU franchise moving forward, we will be able to see him one more time soon in the upcoming film The Flash where he will be making a special appearance. It might be disappointing for fans that we won't be seeing more of his Caped Crusader, but at least there will be some closure.

Also Read: Zack Snyder Set to Make Epic DC Announcement

The Flash is set to release in theaters this June 16. You can check more details about it here.

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